If you have been a faithful follower of my newsletters, you may remember that I blogged this recipe a couple of years ago.It is one of my all-time favorites, so I’ve updated it and decided to send it out again.
Recently I taught it to a group of high school students on Zoom and perfected a pie crust I prefer over the classic one. It is made with sour cream and I have had so much good luck with it that I consider it foolproof. All you need to do is make sure the ingredients are cold when you blend them.
A sour cream crust is easier to roll out and doesn’t shrink as much as a regular pie crust when it is prebaked.
If you use nectarines, you don't even need to peel them. To peel peaches either plunge them into boiling water for 10 seconds, remove and slip off peel or use a carrot peeler that has a serrated edge. (This type of peeler is also good for tomatoes.)
For my favorite pie crust recipe, click here. It needs to be blind baked (see the recipe). This means that it is baked without a filling. (When I was young I thought that meant the crust was blind, because it was covered with foil as it baked and couldn't see.) You can always substitute an already prepared pie shell, but they are usually smaller and fit better in a 9-inch pie dish. You will still need to pre-bake or blind bake it. To make this recipe in a 9-inch pie shell, reduce the filling by about one quarter.
One taste of this ambrosial pie and you may never bake a pie with summer fruit again.
Summer Nectarine (or Peach) & Blackberry (or Boysenberry) Pie
1 Sour Cream Pie Crust, baked, click here for recipe
6 nectarines, unpeeled, or 8 peaches, peeled (about 6 cups)
4 cups blackberries or boysenberries
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Whipped cream or ice cream for serving, optional
1. Make and bake pastry as directed.
2. Slice nectarines or peaches and combine with 1 1/2 cups berries. Place in baked pie shell.
3. In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and water. Add 2 cups berries and bring to a full boil, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should be thin enough to fall between fruit, but thick enough to hold the fruit together. Spoon over pie, allowing to drizzle through the fruit. Refrigerate for 2 to 6 hours.
4. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
Makes 8 servings.
In a small sauce, stir cornstarch, sugar, water and 2 cups berries.
Bring to a boil and cook 5 to 7 minutes until thick enough to coat the fruit, but still thin enough to fall between the slices.
Spoon the glaze over the fruit.
